Two cars in tandem

ABSTRACT

This invention of two cars in tandem consists of a small front cab car and a second caboose car that plugs into the small car resulting in a larger car for more passengers or cargo space. People seated in both cars are close enough to talk to each other. The small car could have a turbo diesel engine that gets 80 miles per gallon when operating alone, the caboose car could have one or two electric motors and battery that combined with the diesel engine would provide impressive power. The small cab car can be used alone when only one or two people need transportation. The cars could be purchased separately and dealers could make the caboose car available to rent when an owner of a small cab car needs a larger car. Each car has two frames; a lower frame and an upper frame that connect, together telescopically and can be disconnected. The caboose cars could be equipped with seats or beds or kitchens or showers or be empty for hauling motor cycles, toys or materials.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to an automobile design that takes on the challenge of producing an automobile that consumes less fuel but also meets the need for a car that will transport a large family or optionally have a capacity to haul materials as with a truck bed.

Automobile manufacturers are designing and producing smaller and smaller cars with ambitions to achieve cars that can get 100 miles per gallon. Small cars have many advantages over big ones. They are more fun to drive and can handle like sports cars and parking is much easier but higher miles per gallon is the main advantage these days with such expensive gasoline. However, to get high mileage, the cars have to be light in weight and that means smaller; it means more two passenger cars. The majority of workers commute to their work place by themselves but auto dealers tell us that their customers often buy large cars just for the few times a year they will need a large car.

The first object of this invention is to make available a vehicle that is large enough to transport a large family with enough motor power to perform well. The second object is to be able to disconnect the lightest weight of the two cars and be able operate it with its small motor independently of the second larger car.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In describing these tandem cars, the front car will be referred to as the Cab and the rear car will be referred to as the Caboose. The Cab has a small motor, perhaps a turbo diesel and the Caboose may have one or more electric motors and battery or an air motor. When the Cab and Caboose are connected together, their combined power provides high powered performance. When the Cab with its small motor is disconnected from the Caboose, it provides high miles per gallon performance. The owner can leave the larger electric car in his garage most of the time and drive the small car to work.

Having a quick plug-in car when a larger car is needed would be a great advantage. Different types of plug-in cars could be available to rent for special trips. The car dealerships or rental agencies could have Caboose cars for rent furnished in a variety of ways; some for maximum passenger seating, some furnished like camping travel trailers, some with maximum sleeping beds, some as an office or even a limousine.

There can be several weight classes of this two car tandem vehicle. For instance, the tandem cars built for Europe may be small and narrow for their narrow streets, and cars built for American cities may be larger and cars built for Rocky Mountain States may be even larger heavy duty cars. Many people should be attracted to a car that has so many possibilities.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Notice that the drawings in FIGS. 1 and 3 are side views that show three wheels on one side. That would be two on the front of the Cab, two on the rear of the Cab and two on the rear of the Caboose. The two wheels on the rear of the Cab are not touching the ground. That is because the two cars are connected in tandem arrangement and the independent support frames are telescopically connected together in perfect straight alignment and that holds the wheels in the middle of the assembly up off of the ground. When the two cars are disconnected, the middle wheels of the assembly become the rear wheels of the Cab car.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the two cars in tandem showing the two cars connected together with the Cab back door 2 in a position where it is closed down on the door frame 4 that is part of the roof of the Caboose.

FIG. 6 shows the connection between the frame 4 on the Cab and the frame 3 on the Caboose when they are connected together in telescopic engagement as in FIG. 1. A seal 22 is shown installed between frame 3 and frame 4 and frame 2 and 4 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the Cab with the Caboose removed and the back door 2 in a position where it is closed down on the door frame 4.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the Cab with the back door in a position where it is closed down on the door frame 4 but with addition of a Caboose attached to the Cab. The type of Caboose shown here is of a flat bed truck 8 for hauling material. Electric motors and battery or an air motor that power the truck Caboose are installed under the deck of the truck bed at 32.

FIG. 4 is side view of the support frames 10 and 11 that the Cab and the Caboose are attached to. Preferably they are square tubes; one is larger than the other so that the smaller one can telescope inside of the larger tube. The frame on the right 10 is the support frame for the Caboose. The drawing on the left is the Cab support frame 10. It is shown angling down from left to right and is not aligned with the Caboose support frame on the right. The jacks 26 on the back end of the Cab support frame 10 must be jacked up to bring it up to the proper alignment with the Caboose support frame 11. With this proper alignment the support 11 can be telescopically inserted into the support frame 10 and be locked into place by the electronic actuator 12 that pushes the locking shafts 14 into the holes 16 in the support frames that are aligned to receive the shafts 14 as is shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 shows the contact between the Cab door 2 and the Cab door frame 4. A seal 22 is shown sealing between the two frames. There is a generic latch between the Cab door and the Cab frame

DISCONNECTION

The disconnection of the tandem connection is accomplished by the driver and these easy steps.

1^(st) Before the Caboose is disconnected there needs to be a means of supporting its frame in a position that is parallel to the ground. This is accomplished by a support leg being installed on the bottom front end of the of the Caboose support frame. The support leg 32 has a flat plate 34 on its upper end and it has a wheel 36 on its bottom end. A receptacle 28 for the flat plate is attached to the bottom of the Caboose support frame 11. It has a pair of grooves opposite each other that allow the plate on the support leg to slide into the grooves (from the side only) like a tongue and groove male to female connection. This takes about three seconds.

Next there are two jacks 26 that are on the back end of the support frames of the Cab. These are common jacks that are used on recreation vehicles. They can be hydraulic or electric or hand crank 26 operated. Extending the jacks down will lift the support frames and the rear wheels of the Cab which removes the friction between the interlocking support frames that are telescopically interconnected. An electric switch is operated that retracts the locking shafts 14 that keep the two frames 10 and 11 from sliding apart. A keyed power switch on the side of the Caboose is turned to cause the electric motors in the Caboose to very slowly inch backwards which pulls its support frame out of engagement with the frame of the Cab. The Caboose carries one or more electric motors, possibly one for each wheel and battery at 32. Next the jacks 26 under the Cab are retracted and the rear wheels on the Cab are lowered into engagement with the ground so the Cab is ready for independent operation.

The reconnection of the two cars is just the reverse. The Cab is backed up close to the support frame of the Caboose where the support leg 36 on the front of the Caboose is holding it in level position. The jacks on the Cab are extended down so that the Cab is jacked up so that the support frames are aligned with each other. The keyed power switch on the side of the Caboose is turned to cause the electric motors in the Caboose to very slowly inch foreword pushing the support frames into telescopic interconnection with each other. There are stops 30 on the support frame 11 to stop and position the two frames so that the holes in the frames line up accurately. The electric locking shafts 12, 14 on the support frames and the door frames 22 are actuated. Then the jacks on the Cab are retracted and the two cars are ready for their tandem operation. 

1-12. (canceled)
 13. A cab car having means for a connection to a caboose car that would enlarge the cab car size and capacity, said means for connection includes having a longitudinal support frame 10 that supports said cab car, said support frame 10 is angled down from front to back relative to the ground so that the forward end is higher than the back end when the cab car is standing alone, this requires that the back end of the frame be raised up to be parallel to the ground to provide the proper alignment to receive the telescopic entry of a longitudinal support frame 11 of a caboose car that would thereby hold the rear wheels of the cab car up elevated off of the ground completing a connection for operation, the longitudinal support frame 10 also supports the cab car and the typical basic old art operating systems common to automobiles like an engine, engine compartment wheels etc.
 14. The combination of claim 13 whereby said cab car has a frame 4 at its rear end that extends upwardly from the longitudinal support frame
 10. 15. The combination of claim 14 whereby the frame 4 on the cab car has a bore with an interior profile that includes a sealing surface and a shouldering surface.
 16. A first car having two different connection points for the connection of a second car to the first car, said first car has two frames, a lower frame 10 and an upper frame 4, both frames have female type connectors open for the reception of male type connectors that are on a second car, the lower frame 10 of the first car runs longitudinally and supports the whole first car assembly, the upper frame 4 of the first car is connected to the lower frame 10 of the first car and extends upwardly and can make a secure connection to the upper frame 3 of a second car making a doubly strong dependable whole car assembly.
 17. The combination of two cars in tandem, a front cab car and a rear caboose car arranged for releasable connection, longitudinal support frame 10 supports said cab car, longitudinal support frame 11 supports said caboose car, four wheels are attached to the cab car, two wheels are attached to the caboose car near its rear end, the caboose car carries one or more electric motors and battery for propulsion, the longitudinal support frame 10 that is attached under the cab car angles down from front to back relative to the ground so that the forward end is higher than the back end, however in this connected assembly the longitudinal support frame 11 that is attached under the caboose car is inserted telescopically into the angled support frame 10 of the cab car resulting in the cab car frame being held up parallel to the ground thereby holding the rear wheels of the cab car up elevated up off of the ground by the straight aligned connection of both support frames, therefore the load of both cars and cargo are carried by the two front wheels of the cab car and the two wheels of the caboose car.
 18. The combination of claim 17 that includes a door frame 4 in the roof of the caboose car that is exposed open upwardly and the cab car door 2 can extend out over the roof of the caboose car and the door 2 can close down on the door frame 4 so the door 2 can become part of the roof of the caboose car when the cab car and the caboose car are connected together.
 19. The combination of claim 17 whereby said caboose car has attached to it an electric braking system for its wheels. 